1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a system for synchronizing voice messaging subscriber information and, more particularly, is directed to a system for using an intermediary server to synchronously apply subscriber information updates from multiple voice messaging systems to a shared directory server, thereby providing a directory server that is synchronized in real-time with subscriber information in the different voice messaging systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Different voice messaging systems are able to exchange subscriber messages. To send subscriber messages between subscribers of different voice messaging systems, voicemail systems need to obtain information about an external mailbox, such as a mailbox maintained by another vendor. Such information can include routing information, existence information, and availability information. Querying an external mailbox to determine whether an external mailbox exists, is available, or to obtain other information about the external mailbox requires the external mailbox's routing information. Routing information can be stored at and retrieved from the local voicemail system, or stored at and retrieved from a directory. If stored routing information is not available, the voice messaging system must query every possible destination voice messaging system to obtain the host address of an external message box. This approach is unreliable, inefficient, and may require support for different types of queries if voice messaging systems are from different vendors.
In the case where mailbox routing information is stored locally on a voicemail system, changes to external routing information must be manually applied to the corresponding routing information on the local voicemail system. These manual changes are problematic; voicemail systems may be from different incompatible vendors; changes must be distributed, which often is not possible; and the routing information must be changed manually, increasing the cost and the probability of error.
There are also problems in the case where mailbox routing information is stored at a shared central directory, or in the hybrid case where some mailbox feature information is stored locally, and mailbox routing information is stored at a shared central directory. The information stored at the shared central directory must be manually updated to reflect changes made to the voicemail systems, presenting similar compatibility and manual application problems. A need exists for automatically rather than manually updating information stored among voicemail systems.
The shared directory approach also creates synchronicity problems. Currently, subscriber updates made at voice messaging systems are manually tracked and applied to a central directory, usually by a systems administrator. When subscriber information changes at the subscriber's voice messaging system, that subscriber's information at the central directory must be updated as soon as possible or immediately after the change at the voice messaging system. If subscriber information changes at the subscriber's voice messaging system and does not change at the central directory, subscriber messages sent to the subscriber from different voice messaging systems will be routed based on out-of-date information stored at the central directory, and the messages will typically not be delivered. A need exists for rapidly synchronizing central database information with voicemail system information.